4,535 Shares in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) Bought by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,535 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CMG. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 674.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,122,778 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $122,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848,625 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 123.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,471,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $142,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,635 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 224.2% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,696,457 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $97,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173,207 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,335,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 97.6% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,753,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $101,056,000 after purchasing an additional 866,291 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $286,304.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 185,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,078,337.92. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stephens decreased their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.31.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 2.5 %

CMG stock opened at $54.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.08. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.98 and a 1-year high of $69.26.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 42.92% and a net margin of 13.56%. As a group, analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It sells food and beverages through offering burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company also provides delivery and related services its app and website. It has operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.